I Am Wishing You The Best
by TheSuperCassie
Summary: Post opera. Shilo needs a little help with the agony and there's only one cure she knows of and only one place to get it.
1. Prologue

Mag had sensed her demise -maybe sensed isn't the right word as she was as aware of the contract as Rotti- as anyone who can all but feel the pendulum of imminent death looming over head. Part of her didn't want to believe Rotti would send Repo for her but she knew that was naive.

In the hour between seeing her living goddaughter and visiting her for the first -and last- time she met with her lawyer. In her many years indebted to GeneCo they had paid her and well to be honest.

All she had would go to the girl whose life she'd miss. After seeing her trapped in the house Nathan had turned into Marni's tomb she knew there was no better person to leave everything. The girl would definitely be able to blaze her own path finally free from her father.

* * *

Nathan knew Rotti wanted him dead, the men swarming him in his own underground Repo torture chamber was more than enough. He was smart enough to know everything was bound to come out. His daughter, his Shilo, would know everything if Rotti had anything to do with it.

He feared losing his girl more than losing his life. He'd been gone a long time anyways.

Realization came upon him. All he wanted was Shilo to find something that had eluded him for so long; life. Not existence, but true living.

* * *

Graverobber went straight to harvesting once the kid had freed him from hopelessly dangling in the GeneCo building without a drop of Zydrate. Leaving him completely unaware of the opera debacle until he came back from the mass grave he'd stumbled on with the kid earlier that seemingly endless night. He saw the re-run and the midnight edition of the Evening Slice. News travelled fast.

The whole story came out too, from the minor details of Mag being Shilo's estranged Godmother all the way to what really happened to Marni. It wasn't as much Nathan's fault as Rotti wanted everyone to believe as the story was told by some anonymous old Gentern that he'd bet was already brewing some good Z. She wouldn't be coming back for a second interview.

He felt some sympathy for the kid. Finally he knew why she seemed so unaware of everything in the world.

There was one thing about being a salesmen that really mattered. He didn't run a credit plan for his customers and he applied the same to himself. When Graverobber had a debt he paid. Which is why he made damn certain he never owed anything to anyone. He definitely owed the kid one though.

* * *

Bathed in the blood of all she knew she lay pathetically crumpled in a useless weeping heap on the floor.

As she wept on the floor in the atrium of the big empty house -her big empty house now- her mind ran wild with thoughts. '_So many things went horribly wrong. Was I never really meant to go outside? Will anything ever feel right again? How can I live in this vile rattrap world that I'm absolutely oblivious to? I was lucky the driver brought me home.'_

She was left with a truck load of unanswered questions.

Everything in her ached. Her soul leading out to her body. Of course the latter was probably the start of the withdrawals. She'd missed more than 4 of her hourly doses and her body was noticing.

* * *

**A/N: Hello out there this is my first story on here so I feel a little weird. Parts of the prologue won't be touched on for a few chapters so it's like you got spoilers from the jump. I feel like I'm writing this one a little weird so I'm a little nervous. :] Be kind to me please!**


	2. A Little Help With The Agony

Pain wracked her body, she was just getting worse and worse. Shilo had managed to drag herself up to her bathroom and resume crying in her broken pile under the running water. She turned the water off once it ran cold but she couldn't bring herself to get out.

As the pain increased, phantom pains of injuries never sustained, and her chest just started feeling tighter and tighter like her heart wouldn't even have the room to beat she had to do something. She sure as hell wasn't taking her father's medicine and there was only one other cure she knew of.

Stumbling out of her mother's tomb into the graveyard that started this whole fucked up mess her clothes were askew and her wig was hanging haphazardly off kilter. Her appearance was at the bottom of her list. She had to keep her mind on waiting, she could survive this she was sure.

One of the GeneCo death trucks rolled by at a meandering pace on it's way back toward the city. Some guy at the beginning of his shift taking his reluctant time before he'd have to scrape corpses off the concrete. If it weren't for him taking that sluggish pace she probably wouldn't have been able to catch hold of the bar and hoist herself up onto the back.

Struggling to maintain focus she watched her surroundings as much as her pain addled mind would allow. She was only hoping he'd pass the alley she was looking for before actually having to make a pickup.

Things got familiar and she snapped up, readying herself for the jump off. She came down with a stumble and caught herself on the wall of the alley using it as a guide.

She knew she'd find who she was looking for, or at the very least someone who could point her in the right direction. Clinging to the wall she approached, she saw the same circus she saw before with some new junkies and some she'd already seen. He had to be at the center of that gasping crowd.

So again she found the strength to wait. Propped up in the alcove with everyone seemingly oblivious to the shaking teenage girl. The circles around her eyes were deep purple, her skin glazed in a light sweat as she trembled, she was grinding her teeth, she looked like one of the junkies. Why would they pay her any mind?

Graverobber didn't even see her until the crowd had mostly dispersed. The only ones still around were a few desperate women without enough dough trying to negotiate. Not a single one of those women had a snowball's chance in hell. He did that far less often than people liked to believe.

"Kid?" He couldn't sound as concerned as he was, not with the animals still lurking. "You still alive over there?"

Her voice came out shaky at best. "Y-Yeah." She was trying to think of how to politely point out he'd said he'd hook her up without everyone else knowing why. "Seeing as you're not tied up anymore, I was hoping you had my cure."

The words came out so limp Graverobber couldn't bother to be offended. He knew she was desperate.

"Well kid," He'd keep the words guarded as well, he had his reputation. He couldn't just come out and say 'I owe you one' or anything. "First hit's free is standard rule for us." He sounded as smooth taking as ever.

The junkie hanging off the faux fur lapels of his coat laughed. "Because the first hit _sticks_!" Once upon a time, she'd been a dealer herself but dipping into your own product screws you. She still had the slogans though.

Shilo didn't get what she meant.

Another junkie looked at Shilo's tragic looking form skeptically. "Are you sure she's a first timer?"

The other knew better and could see Shilo's flummoxed look stemming from what she'd said. "She is. And kid, no one who takes Z is a one hit wonder."

She still looked lost.

Graverobber was the one who sighed and decided to explain junkie number 1's words. "What she's saying is, one hit and you can't quit."

_Addiction: compulsive need for and use of habit-forming substance_. The definition came to her. She remembered all those things she'd heard about Zydrate on the news. She was too desperate to care.

"Lets take you somewhere more private. The first hit is special." His tone was devious enough just so the junkies would really be convinced.

"So jailbait's what does it for you now Graverobber?" The stupid one spoke again jealousy shining through her hacked up skin like neon lights.

"I like anything that doesn't disgust me Nikkita." He spoke in a hard tone, not playing nice anymore. "And don't threaten to go to another dealer either. You know their stepped on half rate shit won't satisfy you the way the pure glow I sell does."

Not much stopped Graverobber from doing exactly what he wanted. Not even a few customers dissatisfied with his service. They came to him because they were addicted to his product, not his service.

He walked over to Shilo knowing exactly where he'd take her.

* * *

He found his way back to the tomb without too much thought. The girl's strength had withered though. He'd had to carry the wisp of a girl the final leg of the journey. The girl was barely conscious and groaning in pain.

There were a lot of different feelings running through him. Does he actually shoot up the one kid who's not knowingly hooked on anything with the most addictive drug humanity's ever known? The dealer in him screams "_yes_" fervently. "_So naive,_"Dealer says, "_So easy to corrupt the foolish. Don't they deserve it?"_ The human in him disagrees. He'll sell to anyone who really understands what they're asking for whether they be 8 or 80 -although he doubted an 8 year-old would really ever understand- he only had that one standard. Shilo didn't meet it.

"Kid, how do you get home from here?" He asked as he sat her down on the steps inside the tomb to give his arms a little rest.

She leaned against the wall to keep herself up and pointed at the opposite wall. "Pick up the torch."

He didn't know what this had to do with getting the girl home but he obliged. The wall slithered away when he lifted it and he was shocked. "_So this is how shut ins travel."_

He went back over to her and hoisted her back up with his free hand and wrapped his arm around her waist to support her weight and she staggered along at his side.

The door closed behind them and he really looked around the passage they were going through. More bodies covered in plastic. Untouched by any other grave robber. This kid was like a gift that just kept on giving. Any time he lost on the street helping this kid was going to be made up for in product. He knew these were old bodies, they had to have ten vials each. That is if the whole cavity that was once occupied by brain isn't filled entirely. This would keep him stocked for a good long time.

Soon enough they came upon the hidden door that lead into the atrium of the house. He'd left the torch in its place just outside the door and was carrying the kid again. Up the stairs seemed like the obvious way to go to find her room. Once he was up there he was presented with a variety of doors and waited for her to point to the right one to move.

When he put her down on her bed she looked up at him hopelessly. "Are you going to give me the shot now?"

She looked so bad he almost changed his mind. "No." He spoke with a sigh proving how hard this had weighed in his head. "I owe you kid and I'm not paying you back by treating your withdrawals with an addictive drug. I sell the drug it wouldn't be me helping you it'd be me helping me." On a normal day that would be just what he did.

She wanted to fight back claim that she knew what she wanted but she turned positively green as a wave of nausea crashed on her like a tidal wave. She scrambled to get out of her bed, the plastic sheets proving to be a big hindrance.

Graverobber saw all this play right before him and ripped the plastic down and quickly reached for the waste basket by her bed and handed it to her.

She heaved the contents of her stomach into the receptacle torturously. Everything in her weakened even further with this new physical exertion.

When it seemed the nausea was gone for the moment Graverobber took the can from her and sat it at the edge of her bed for ease of reach. She fell to her back against her pillows just giving up on everything for the moment.

"Graves?" She couldn't get his whole name out. "Am I gonna die?"

He chuckled, "Nah, kid. You'll survive this, it'll suck for a few days. Some of the less severe symptoms will last a week or two. There are somethings that can bother you for a long time but it won't be like this." His words were kind and soft so she'd know them to be honest.

"I'll clean this out before you need it again." He said grabbing the trash can again after thinking about it. He pointed to the door they didn't come through. "Bathroom?"

She just nodded.

He thought to himself about how nice he was being, it was terrifying to the street hardened drug dealer. Reputations aren't easy to come by but old habits are hard to brake.

* * *

As soon as the cameras were off the Largo children were meeting with a lawyer banning together to keep the business in the family hands. The only thing they could all agree on is the simple fact that it couldn't end up in the hands of that damned shut in that miraculously found their father's favor.

"Well, it's not signed so technically it's invalid leaving it in the hands of his next of kin which would be you three. However, a lawyer with a more creative grasp -one vying for you guys just a little bit less- could contest that Shilo Wallace's name being handwritten on his will showed his true intent to keep it out of your hands. The way to keep people from bringing this to light would be to make big P.R. moves. Starting with deciding -without a battle royal- who the people would embrace the most as CEO."

They didn't yell, they didn't scream, they didn't fight. Honestly each of them introspectively thought about what the public thought of them... Well, except for Pavi, he started thinking about that then somehow his mind wandered to his reflection in the glass of the table.

The lawyer continued, "From a P.R. standpoint I can tell you what I think."

They snapped from their revere -even Pavi's less than focused one- to hear him out. Mourning for them didn't involve crying and big elaborate scenes, they were pragmatic. They were going to handle the business.

"The world sees Luigi's temper, they won't trust someone they think has so little value for human life." He started very carefully, he could see the rage brewing under the oldest son's skin. "Pavi is known for stealing faces." With the hurt sort of look on Pavi he added more. "They like you in spite of it oddly but they can't trust you. Amber seems to have worked a little harder to be press friendly. You're flaky, trampy, and an addict but you're the one who they could see a change in. They think addiction is way easier to cure than lack of regard for human life." This had to be the bravest lawyer in all the world. He did work for Rotti for 20 years.

The boys both showed signs of anger then. "Are you tryin' to say _Amber_ should run GeneCo?!" Luigi hissed.

"That's all the world needs to know. We can work out the contracts so you all own equal shares but have Amber act as the boss. You're all going to have to play the 'change' game though. Run this like an old American election where everyone comes out preaching about change."

The lawyer gave them some time to think it over leaving them alone in the conference room to talk amongst themselves. Amber knew she couldn't be the one to say she agreed with him because it would seem far too self serving and her brothers would react the way they wanted to.

"He's-a right." The accent he wasn't quite aware he didn't _really _have spilled out of his mouth. "Sister is-a the only one they'd-a believe."

"Fucking shit." Luigi cussed blindly.

"Well, I do think he's right but there's something else we're going to have to do too." She spoke easily. "We need to have that Shilo Wallace taken out, and I don't mean dinner and a movie."

Finally they agreed again, more than once in a night. That had to be a record.

* * *

He'd found a handful of different over the counter meds in the cabinet in Nathan's bathroom -he was a grave robber he had no issue searching people's shit- and taken Shilo some of the ones he thought would help ease her pain a little bit. There was even melatonin so maybe she'd just sleep for a while.

"Kid, I'm going to go do you a favor you don't even know you need yet." He said as he swaggered out of the room and made his way out of the house.

He noticed there was a crack behind the fireplace, he had to check that out before he left. Curiosity often paid off well for grave robbers in this era, much better than it worked out for cats.

He found more corpses, the repo man's office, and that there was an entirely new labyrinth for him to exit out of. He now had two secret ways to get in and out of that house.


	3. Hold Your Head High Heavy Heart

A year passes. Well slightly longer than a year, it was her second Christmas on her own. She sat on a barstool on the far end of the bar wanting only to be left alone. She was able to get through every other day of the year with grace but on the holidays things got complicated. She needed to get away from her empty house.

The bar was simply decorated in typical bar things, neon signs calling out the names of different liquors, dark leather booths, the token jukebox. It wasn't a high class place but it wasn't overrun with scalpel sluts and super creeps. Good enough for her.

She stared at herself in the mirror behind the bar. Over the year so much about her had changed. Her hair hung in waves surrounding her face in an adorable bob, it was the same color as her mother's had been but not quite as curly. It was weird to think that she didn't take off her hair before a shower now. Her skin lost some of it's sickly pallor. She was still pale but she looked more alive now. Then there was her figure, she'd finally put on enough weight not to be described as a sickly wisp. Her father's meds hadn't kept puberty from hitting her but it kept her sick looking so no weight would stick. She sort of hated and loved the fact that she actually needed a bra now.

The best thing to come from all these changes was the simple fact that no one recognized her from the opera anymore. Part of her guessed Graverobber -the only person alive who really knew her- wouldn't even recognize her.

When that thought ambled through her mind she couldn't help but go back to her useless rage that day. When she'd told him to get lost for no other real reason than she just wanted to hold on to the one thing that seemed to ease the pain for the moment, made her feel alive for a fleeting moment.

_A few days had gone by most of the physical symptoms diminishing with the passage of time but she wasn't out of the woods yet. Graverobber had been coming and going like he lived there himself but never staying too long. She seemed to enjoy having some company._

_Usually._

_She'd realized Graverobber had rummaged through her father's cabinets that first night and her mood swings took that not so well. The fact that she was dwelling on the fact he wouldn't give her the one thing that might have made this whole process just a little bit less miserable probably didn't help him._ '_**He said he'd hook me up. I shouldn't have helped him down!'**_

_As soon as he came through Shilo's secret passage she heard him and met him at the landing with her arms crossed and her face hard._

_He knew that look, he'd made plenty of women mad in his time but this one he had no idea what he'd done. Before even mounting the first step of the stairs he threw his hands up in surrender. "What did I do?"_

_Something inside her wished she was stronger on more than one occasion she'd imagined herself overpowering him and taking his zydrate by force. Then the part of her that was still rational realized that she couldn't overpower the man that was nearly a foot taller than her and far more weathered by the world. "You just think you can come in here and go through things don't you? I don't even know who you are!"_

"_Kid, I don't know what you're going on about." He said as he dropped his hands unsure of what to do._

"_My name is Shilo! And the man -whose belongings you were snooping through- was Nathan Wallace! Those were Nathan Wallace's things! Not whatever the hell your name is!" Shilo looked like her soul lit aflame in rage._

_Graverobber honestly never expected this from innocent little Shilo. The shut in who he imagined to be all that was pure left in the world, anger didn't seem to be part of her. A dull ache filled him, it was hard to imagine it was only a few days before that he'd believed the world to be so poisoned that hope was useless. He'd just began to feel something again._

"_Shilo, I went into your father's medicine cabinet to find something safe to help you with the pain." That was all she let him say._

"_Because you can't part with any of your precious Zydrate?" She hissed._

"_I'm not getting you addicted!" He finally raised his voice._

_She laughed a bitter laugh. "You're a drug dealer who defiles bodies for a living. Don't act as though you have morals."_

"_I'll just go." He spoke biting his tongue._ '_**Sorry my job isn't as upstanding as your father's.' **__He held those words in the cage behind his teeth._

"_Don't come back either! I never want to see your face again!" The rational side of her was shouting at the back of her mind that he hadn't really done anything to deserve this but it didn't matter her rage was to all consuming at the moment. She'd never so fully succombed to her anger. Not even when she was yelling at her father on her last night with him._

_Part of him was relieved, this was better than he could have hoped for so far as a good time to leave goes. The quieter part was left with that same old ache. "Don't worry kid. I don't really have the time to fuss with shut ins anyway." The cold tone he used was worse than the fact he didn't even look at her when he said it just walked over to the same passage he'd entered through and made his exit._

_The sinking loneliness took hold of her again, it was only after he was gone that she realized her folie. Part of her spoke and it echoed through her ringing in her head as much as the gunshot had. _'_**At least he's getting out before this angel of death strikes again.'**_

She ordered another shot in his honor. She even said, "Make it blue!" just to really get closer to the idea of the zydrate dealer that haunted her memories.

His wanted pictures had been taken down from all around the city, she wondered if his screaming when he was in a guarded cemetery had finally gotten the better of him.

She was so lost in these thoughts she barely tossed a thanks to the bartender after he sat her drink down and she was completely oblivious to the man who'd taken a seat a barstool away from her.

Eyes roamed over her then her drink he smirked as her fingertips brushed the blue liquid bearing glass. It even made him subconsciously toy with one of the little glass vials in his pocket.

"Are you going to drink that or just reminisce over it?" He asked with a laugh in his voice.

The voice sent a chill through her she ignored it and didn't even look to the masculine voice. "Who reminisces over a drink good sir?"

"The same sort of a person who spends Christmas alone in a bar." The smile in his voice didn't falter, even in just the sound you knew it was a smile filled with mischief. "Maybe the sort of person who gets a drink that reminds them of something else."

Finally he'd piqued her interest. She raised her head enough to look at him through the mirror. She smiled. There was no mistaking him for anyone else. The voice seemed such a distant memory until she really listened and she'd never trust anything but her own eyes anymore.

She dropped her head back down with her smile unrelenting. Then she really started toying with the glass, running her finger around the rim. "What do you think it'd remind me of?" Her voice dropped as well, it was a voice he would be less prone to recognize.

The man who moved silent as the grave moved to erase the chair between them. "Something a bar doesn't serve." His words were suggestive at best.

"Then, as I am at a bar, that would be something you could guess I don't want." She responded back in the same tone as his.

He leaned in closer nose touching her hair as he whispered in her ear. "First hit's free."

She scoffed here, ignoring the shiver that ran through her spine from the sensation of his breath on her neck. "Because the first hit sticks." She still remembered everything that happened that night even with the duress of the pain.

He pulled his head back and turned her face to look at him. As soon as he saw those eyes he knew the girl he was looking at to be the shut in he'd spent so much time wondering about, more so once that old house was vacant. "Shilo?" His voice a whisper.

Her wry smile held a cynicism that she'd never had before. "Yes and no. The new name is Madison."

His eyebrow popped up. "Madison?"

"Well, Marni and Mag were already taken." She spoke before finally throwing back her shot. It was like she'd asked for some sign of him and gotten far more than she'd asked for.

He looked at her trying not to reveal that he'd thought about her since he realized someone else had moved into the house that was once the girl's prison. Admitting that he went back to do more than harvest from the bodies in the secret passage way would have been too much. Admitting that he worried would be even more daunting.

They spoke together, "I thought you were dead."

They both laughed at this less than typically funny topic. Their lives both seemed suited to the darker humor.

"A man who has an order on his head for kill on sight just comes up dead makes sense." He said with his wry smirk in place as he sipped from his glass filled with amber colored liquid.

"A naive girl whose whole family just kicks off just left alone, makes sense." She replied in the same tone.

He could already tell she'd learned a lot since the opera. Way different than the little girl who was still playing on withdrawal's mood swings when he left. "Yeah that one makes way more sense than the street hardened grave robber ever getting caught." His devilish smirk was going full tilt now.

* * *

Amber Largo, she'd abandoned the fake last name but kept the adopted first, sat behind her desk. The main office at GeneCo had changed greatly since the glamor queen had taken over. She hated the sight of the old simple office her father liked so much. Maybe it was just because it made her think of him, maybe the way he'd made her feel.

She'd almost forgotten the old lawyer sitting across from her as she reviewed the latest status report on the Wallace girl hunt.

"Amber," He spoke fighting for her attention. "I know you and your brothers have been hunting for Shilo Wallace since her body didn't turn up six months after you took over. The girl's obviously not starting a coup, the three of you should let it go."

Amber knew the sensible talk would come from him soon enough. She kicked off her heels under her desk and gestured for the henchchicks to leave.

He started feeling her right foot caress his leg. Soldier on he did though. "We've made so much headway with the public. If they they heard anything of this or if she did come to an untimely demise and they even suspected that could start a bigger riot than the girl alive could."

"Walter," She spoke in her lowest tone. "Don't worry about it. We're not putting anything in jeopardy. No one even remembers the girl. They all think it was an act, aside from father's death of course." Her foot ventured even farther up his leg. Up his thigh and she enjoyed watching as his whole body tensed as her foot ran over his penis ever so gingerly.

His smooth voice was gone. "B-bu-but why does it matter if she's alive then? Didn't you dispose of the will?"

"That thing is _long_ gone." She said speaking her words slow letting the sounds take nice round shapes on her lips knowing he'd follow them.

_Graverobber ventured to the opera house knowing how this usually went, opera over only people there until the next one should be the halfwit cleaning staff they were easy enough to avoid. He liked lurking in empty places just imagining them full in another version of his life where he was in the crowd and_ they _were with him. But that wasn't what he was doing tonight he had business to attend to. It was a good thing too because it wasn't as empty as he'd hoped._

_Of course it was too late for any sane person to be hanging around, so who else would he run into._

"_Graverobber," The faux saccharine voice hissed at him from the wings of the theatre before he'd even finished making his way up the stairs to the stage._

_Oh, he was ready for her. "I thought I wouldn't see you anywhere near a stage anytime soon, Miss Sweet. Just trying to save face?" The smirk on his face was cruel and absolutely unstoppable._

_She walked toward him heels clacking against the stage coming into the light to show him she'd already found some skin to toss over the flesh that was so fully exposed earlier. "What are you doing here Graverobber?" Her voice a hiss from clenched teeth._

"_Amber, don't cut off your nose to spite your face." He wouldn't let this go, it was too good. "I'm here to help you. I can make daddy's unsigned will disappear, no one will be able to prove it really says anything. Just tell the ignorant sheep that it was really part of the show. The media hype to create some sort of new buzz for GeneCo. You're business minded enough to fill any other blanks."_

"_How am I supposed to believe this isn't going to end up in the hands of some liberal lawyer who's going to start a fire that leads to a riot at my door?" She asked actually thinking about his offer._

_He scoffed. "Honestly sweet cheeks," that one was a little more subtle, "Do you think I want change? With GeneCo run by the Largo's my business will keep booming. Why would I try to hurt my own profits?"_

_She looked at him thinking he was right. Anyone else would ruin the illegal Z business. Now that she was in charge she could make it a little bit easier for him seeing as he was her favorite dealer and he was making a pretty damned good offer. "I want this destroyed. Not just hidden at the bottom of whatever dumpster you're squatting in."_

_He sighed at the assumption. "I don't live in a dumpster. I'd be way easier to find if I did. Consider it done, Princess." The last word was just to mock her._

_She held the folded up contract, he hadn't even noticed in her hand that had been tucked under her crossed arms, out to him._

_He looked at her and saw for the first time some genuine emotion floating in her artificial features._

"_Carmelia," The new name came shortly after the addictions but he was one of the few who actually knew her then. "You didn't feel your face wasn't fully attached tonight, you might need to cut your Z intake back a notch." The old him that came before the streetwise drug lord wasn't going to quiet down that night._

_She looked at him honestly sort of curious. "You really never had your face replaced have you? It never feels fully attached, never again."_

_This was the girl who'd just lost her father, no matter how distant their relationship had become, vulnerable. He wouldn't take anymore jabs right now he'd save some for when her facade wasn't so weak. He turned to leave even managed to get a few steps before she spoke softly._

"_Why didn't he ever love me?" The words like a bullet in the night piercing right through the recipient._

_He half turned back at her, he had no more kind words to spare. "You have to love yourself before anyone else can."_

_Desperately she reached out with her words once more. "Did you ever love me?"_

_He rolled his eyes. "We don't even like each other." Then he went on his way talking to himself loud enough for her to hear. "Seriously, this bitch has more daddy issues than a_ _**bus load**_ _of strippers." He hoped taking care of the will would get the Largos' minds off Shilo. Plus Amber thought it was for them, he knew even with his rudeness he'd get some slack from the GeneCops._

* * *

**A/N:** So I totally changed this chapter. It became a hybrid of the 2nd and 3rd chapter that I think came out way better.

Anybody else wonder why the the lawyer voted Amber Sweet for CEO? ;] I'm drawing some conclusions now.


	4. The Knife In My Back It Reminds Me of U

They'd talked all through the night. Midnight struck and it wasn't much of a proper time to leave a bar but Christmas was over and she'd successfully found a way to forget about it for a while. Graverobber gulped down the last bit of his beer when she announced she was leaving and offered to walk her out.

She wondered how a fugitive was acting so nonchalant about being out in the open like this especially one that stuck out the way he did. Well, maybe she was the only one who thought he stuck out because he was the first person with rainbow colored tresses she'd ever met. As she looked around and really thought about it he was pretty subdued in comparison to some.

"So how are you so comfortable just roaming around out in the open? Aren't you supposed to be flying under GeneCo's radar at least a little bit?" Somehow walking her out turned into walking with her down the road toward her home. She kept her voice down as she asked although there weren't a lot of people out on the streets at midnight on Christmas.

He chuckled. "Nobody was looking at me in that bar. Everybody in there was to enveloped in their own misery to pay attention to anyone else there. I could have walked in with a chainsaw and a mask of human skin and no one would have flinched. Plus all my wanted posters have been down a while, the sheep don't remember faces like they used to." The smile on his face was jolly and snide all at once.

"You sound a little disappointed about the posters, did they feed into your ego Graverobber?" She figured he wasn't about to tell her what had gotten his posters taken down, part of her didn't want to know.

"I still have one stashed away as a reminder of the good ol' days." He said looking over and giving her his mischievous wink.

She smiled. Something hadn't changed, Graverobber was still Graverobber the perfectly wicked showman.

"So, you know why I can come out every so often. I think I get to ask how you left the tower." He stated more than asked.

Her pace was slow, the sound of the heels on her boots adding to the cacophony of sounds of the city night. Staring at the cement she tucked her hair behind her ear as she decided what the best way to explain was. "I grew up, the "tower" couldn't hold me back anymore. Not to mention I realized there were genecops confirming I was still there. Also how I realized the old name had to go. I went out through the graveyard one night and I sold the place. I had to liquidate anything in my name so they wouldn't follow me."

He was surprised she'd thought ahead so far. Trapped in her room her whole life and somehow she knew how to cover her tracks almost as well as he did. "Impressive kid." He looked at her really taking in how different she was. He reached out and gently tugged at a curl toward the front of her hair. "I like the hair. Suits you."

She chuckled, "Yeah, anything's better than my shiny bald head."

Out of a dark alley a figure and voice slithered just far enough to be a silhouette in the night. "I don't know about you but my favorite color has always been blue." Oh there was a tragically desperate undertone that could be heard the world 'round.

Graves knew what was going on, this is classic junkie code. Only really used when they caught you in a slightly open environment or when they were trying out a new dealer to make sure they weren't actually vice. His dealer smirk travelled up his face. "I'm forced to agree but I like it best when it's got a touch of neon." He knew the banter was ridiculous but it was the good ol' tried and true.

Shilo had gotten wise over her time in the real world. She could guess what was going on but she didn't even claim to understand. She wanted to know why that desperate voice sounded so familiar too.

"Can we cut the shit Graverobber?" Finally the woman stepped out far enough to really be visible. The long burgundy hair and the tight pale face of the ever changing CEO.

Shilo's breath caught in her throat and she turned her head so her face would be more covered by her hair. Amber wasn't looking at her though.

"Only if you've got the cash, no time for any alternate payment tonight Sweetcheeks." He kept the veneer perfect. If he acted weird Amber would get suspicious and that was the last thing he wanted her to be with Shilo next to him.

Shilo flushed at the mention of noncash payments having grown up enough to really know what that meant.

"But that's half the fun, Graverobber." The way she purred -a pur that was nearly a hiss- his name brought Shilo back to that night, it seemed like such a distant memory. At the same time no memory was ever so vivid as that night.

"Not all of us were born with the gold spoon hanging out of our mouths and can afford for it to be 'fun' all the time." He easily challenged back. Normal, he reminded himself, normal.

"Well if you can find where I keep my money you can have it." Fluttering her long sewn on lashes flirting shamelessly. The tiny outfit she wore -as she always did to strut around for Graverobber- left very little to the imagination and she didn't carry a purse so it was easy to imagine where she could be hiding her money.

Frustrated with the never ending games this woman wanted to play he grabbed her by the throat and shoved her into the nearest alley wall. The hench chicks she'd inherited were standing in the alley with their blank faces waiting for a signal that Amber wasn't enjoying this. They were more intimidating than her old guards that was for sure.

"Amber if you want me to grope around your body for your money let me assure you I can. It wouldn't make for a grand old time though." He kept his voice low like that would hide the threat from the bitches with guns. "I don't even like you. I've told you this dozens of times. Why do you feel the need to chase me?"

All Shilo needed to hear was that first bit before she decided it was a good time to get out of dodge. She really didn't want to see Graverobber search Amber for her money. Plus it was best not to push her luck any more than she already had.

Graverobber heard the boots walking away his eyes flashed after her before realizing Amber's eyes had followed. He slammed his free hand against the wall blocking her eyes from following the dark haired girl. "I'll give you a vial on the house. Just get your shit from GeneCo now. Not like Daddy can stop you. I'm sick of your shit." He thrust a vial into her chest and walked away.

She looked over to the unchanged faces of the hench chicks embarrassed _-hur_t- to be scorned in front of an audience. In her mind their faces had twisted, they were judging her, they were laughing at her. Rage bubbled up from the pit of her belly, her eyes narrowed, "Send the investigators out to find out who the dark haired bitch was." She barked then stalked past them toward GeneCo only just passing them before turning back. "And get me her face."

Graverobber jogged off in the way he watched her go occasionally glancing back to make sure Amber wasn't following him. Honestly he hoped she'd listen to him. Even if it got him back on GeneCo's shitlist. Amber had seemed far more persistent since she'd given him his pardon -of sorts- and it was quite troublesome for him to deal with her especially since it made the girls he used to have "special transactions" with disappear for some reason or another. That really pissed him off. Nothing worse than a needy junkie.

It took him a minute or two of jogging and guessing directions before he caught sight of the swaying hips that could only be Shilo's. They swayed unlike the hookers, unlike the women of too much pride that think their hips turn the world, it was a nearly innocent sway. Maybe Graverobber could stop identifying women based on their hips but it was highly unlikely.

The girl heard the jogging steps behind her and could guess whose clunky boots were thudding against the pavement. Debating on turning to see him run up to her she figured it'd seem like she was waiting for him to swoop back in on her life. If she just kept walking though it would seem like she didn't expect him, like he wasn't what was on her mind.

"You seem like you can get away without me now." He joked as he easily caught up with the girl. Leg length was a beautiful thing when it came to catching up.

Something about that whole thing had chilled her. Reminded her of that dreadful night. Reminded her of the deal he'd made with the Largos just for some extra cash. Stealing her mother's corpse from her gilded cage. Although he did end up getting screwed. It gave her great pause, was this really someone she could trust? "I'm not a confused kid anymore, I can find my way home."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Did I do something wrong?"

A weighty sigh escaped her and she rolled her eyes. "I grew up. I don't just trust the first guy who almost gets me killed in a graveyard." Trying to sound objective she just sounded icy.

"I wasn't trying to get you killed. I wanted..." _to impress you_, no that would end badly. "I don't really know what was going through my head. I just have to try to fuck with authority sometimes. Impulse control issues."

Probably not his best defense. "Well, that makes it better. I'm not naive, I can't trust that you don't have a deal with Amber right now to find me."

"If that was the case don't you think I would have just shoved you over to her then? Why would I waste anymore time?" The man did know more about that sort of deal than she would. "I'm your friend Shilo. I don't know what more to say to you. I'm not Mr Perfect but damn if I'm not the guy who saved your ass even if it wasn't always to my benefit. I could have shot you up that night, rest assured you wouldn't be where you are today if I had. You'd either be dead or just another junkie crawling for their next fix, empty and worthless. If that's not enough for you kid there ain't nothing more I can do."

The words the drug dealer spoke in his cruel, passionate honesty rang within her and echoed truer than church bells. Her arms crossed over her chest keeping her eyes on the ground. "I'm sorry Graverobber. I just... I don't spend time with people. Trust isn't something I'm really apt for."

His bright blue eyes watched the pale girl as her words were spoken softly, fearfully. He reached out and gently tugged one of her hands free lacing it with his own. "Me too kid."

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**Authors Note: Sorry about the wait. This story has morphed a wee bit from what I thought it'd be and flushing out what it needs to be has taken some time. Plus I started another Graverobber story that took up a lot of my time. You may see it sooner or later. :]**

**Thank EVERYONE who followed, commented, and favorited you guys are the reason I took my eyes off the other story long enough to finish this chapter.**

**Forgive the "U" in the title. It's one letter too long with it spelled out "You" and I couldn't part with the title.**


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